Best oil for an older acura TL ('96 3.2l)?

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Hi there, new to the forum. I've been reading through lots of posts to try and absorb as much info as possible. So far I'm finding it hard to come to a conclusion on my car. I've got a '96 acura TL, the recommendation for this car is a 5W-30 oil, lately I've been using a high mileage for the oil changes and now I'm second guessing myself finding that I'm actually pouring in a thicker oil.

The car has 110K miles on it, the car doesn't have any leaks so I'd like to go with the best performance oil that doesn't pose any risks to future oil leakage. I'm thinking I'll switch back to a regular 5w-30 next oil change but after reading on this board I'm curious about auto-rx, and synthetic oils. If anyone has experience with these honda engines I'd appreciate your input.
 
Any ILSAC GF-4 5W30 should do justice.

Unless your engine is leaking oil or burning oil through valve stem seals, otherwise, I would stay away from high mileage oil for the time being. I don't buy into the tune of "when any vehicle hits 120,000kms, they all have to go on a high mileage oil diet from that day onwards", citing my 2 properly managed (Mazda B6 and B3, respectively) engine with proper yet conservative OCI (yes, I used Q full syn after 1.5 yrs of Pennzwax on yellowbottle in 1993 for my B6, and been using Q full syn until I sold my car), all engine seals and valve stem seals shall stay healthy and pliable even if the engine has gotten past 200,000kms and beyond. Only the neglected engines and improperly designed (I call this "fundamentally flawed") engines will suffer from seal leak problems and HM oil may help to a certain degree.

If you've been using good quality regular (non syn) 5W30 with proper servicing (tuneups, PCV valve replacements, etc.) for all these time, granted that there is no seal leak anywhere else, just do an AutoRx and then stay on with whatever you use. Syn oil helps in some ways but given the fact that your vehicle is 11 yrs old and sometimes, haphazardly switching from non-syn to full syn may cause seal leaks, I just won't go through that route (you may try M1, PP, etc. and if one of them works for you, stay on with that one until you rid of your car).

good luck!

Q.

p.s. These Honda engines are very reliable to begin with, so long as you maintain it properly. It doesn't require any extra pampering other than conservative OCI (these Hondas are very easy on motor oil so it's not surprising that it can run an avg of 8000miles OCI and yet oil tests show very good reading). It doesn't require any "snake oil" or oil supplements, just good quality motor oil (API SL/SM and ILSAC GF-4).
 
I'll switch over to the regular oil once I get my autorx in the mail. What detrimental effects could running high mileage oil have in the long run?
 
If you do not have any seal leaks IMHO do not use any HM oil for the seal sweller will swell up all the seals and if you go back to ordinary oil later on, it might shrinks causing serious leaks.

Like I said before: if you do not suffer from seal leaks problem, why bother switching to HM oil? HM oil is designed for engines with seal leaks and/or increased engine bearing clearances. It does not provide any additional benefits if your engine is "tight" and the seals are working properly.
 
Quote:


If you do not have any seal leaks IMHO do not use any HM oil for the seal sweller will swell up all the seals and if you go back to ordinary oil later on, it might shrinks causing serious leaks.





That's exactly what I'm worried about now. After a year of driving on this stuff, will going back to non-HM oil create new problems?
 
Considering that you are in Canada, I would run synthetic oil for the winters at least. The better cold flow characteristics of synthetics will make things a bit easier for your engine, starter motor, battery and alternator.
 
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